The concept of combining III-V materials with silicon was born in the 1980s. Although the degree of progress in silicon technology could not be anticipated at the time and therefore many potential applications could not be detailed, such technology was pursued on a fundamental basis. The basic idea was that combining the ability to emit and detect light (III-V material) with digital logic (silicon digital circuits) would result in new markets as well as disrupt old markets. However, actually accomplishing this goal in a practical way has proven more a challenge than was at first recognized.